“The issues in the case turn around his mental state at that time and now the particular investigation whether he is fit to plead, whether he was able to form a specific intent.”

Green, of Popeshead Court, Peter Lane, off Market Street in York, is a graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy and served with the Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan, before stepping down as a platoon commander last April.

He is being seen by psychiatrists for both sides in the case. He is accused of the murder of Miss Waterhouse and the attempted murder of Miss Browne.

A trial has been scheduled to begin on April 7, lasting up to nine days.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC told Green, who was shown sitting at a table in the prison: “You have heard what has been taking place this afternoon and we have done our best to narrow down the issues for the trial which will take place before Easter. You will remain in custody until then.”

Mr Wright said his statement in public could help identify the issues in the case.

Miss Waterhouse grew up in Breighton, near Bubwith, and attended Howden School. At her funeral at Howden Minster last November her father, York estate agent John Waterhouse, described her as a “shining light” and a gentle, caring and loving daughter.

Miss Browne, from Linton- on-Ouse, is the daughter of Lisa and Clive Browne, who have run Linton Stores for about ten years, and a former student at Easingwold School.

Villagers rallied round the family after the attack, which left Miss Browne facing a lengthy stay in hospital.

Green is understood to have been educated at Oakham School, near Leicester, a boarding school which has fees of up to £29,000 per year. According to an interview with a military magazine in 2011, he grew up in Leicestershire and Rutland and travelled to Africa and the USA before taking one year of a French and Arabic course at the University of Reading, then joining the Army.